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CLAS stands for College Level Academic Skills and is a state-mandated requirement that measures attainment of
communication and mathematics skills expected of students completing their sophomore year in college. A student
must meet CLAS requirements to earn the Associate in Arts or a baccalaureate degree from any Florida public institution.
If the CLAS requirement has not been satisfied by the time a student registers for his/her 36th hour of upper level
coursework (3000 and 4000 level courses) a TL hold will be placed on his/her records and course
registration will be restricted to 1000 and 2000 level courses until the requirement is met.
CLAS Requirements
Students must satisfy the 2 subsections (Computation Skills and Communication Skills) of the CLAS requirements via one
of the following methods:
Computation Skills
To satisfy the Computation Skills requirement of the CLAS, the student must achieve:
- SAT-I Mathematics score of 500
OR
- EACT Mathematics score of 21
OR
- 2.5 GPA in two of the following courses (at least 6 semester hours which can include credit by examination hours)
- MGF 1106 Finite Mathematics
- MGF 1107 Mathematics for Liberal Arts
- any MAC course with the last three digits being 102 or higher
- any other MGF course with the last three digits being 202 or higher
- any Gordon Computation(6A) statistics course
- Accuplacer CPT examination
- Elementary Algebra (CPT-A) - score of 91 required
Communication Skills
This requirement is made up of three subsections (Reading, English Language, and Essay) that can be met in different ways.
The Communication Skills requirement can be met completely with a 2.5 GPA in two
Gordon Communication(6A) courses
(excluding SPC prefix). One of these courses must have the ENC prefix.
For example, a combination of a B grade in ENC 1101(3cr) and a C grade in
LIT 2000(3cr) would fulfill the complete Communication Skills requirement of CLAS.
Alternatively, to satisfy the Communication Skills requirement subsections of the CLAS, the student must achieve:
Reading
- SAT-I Critical Reading score of 500
OR
- EACT Reading score of 22
OR
- Accuplacer CPT Reading Comprehension (CPT-R) score of 93
English Language and Essay
- SAT-I Writing score of 500
OR
- EACT English score of 21
OR
- Accuplacer CPT Sentence Skills (CPT-S) score of 105
Students who have already earned a baccalaureate degree from a regionally-accredited institution are
considered to have satisfied the CLAS requirement. In addition, students who have earned an Associate of Arts
degree from a Florida public community college are considered to have satisfied the CLAS requirement. An Associate
of Science degree is not sufficient to satisfy the CLAS requirement.
Waivers are only given for extenuating circumstances in rare cases. Students may speak to their academic advisor regarding a
waiver if they meet the following criteria:
ESL -English as a second language or English as a foreign language with a minimum grade point
average of 2.0 in all college credit courses in the skill area for which a waiver is being considered, and
has met "Gordon Rule" requirements for that area.
Disability waivers - Section 1008.29(5), F.S., and State Board of Education (SBE) Rule 6A-10.0311(6), FAC, provide special consideration
for students in public institutions who have a specific learning disability such that they cannot successfully complete
one or more CLAS requirement. At USF, a student must first register with Students with Disabilities Services (SDS) in order to
document a learning disability. A request for a CLAS waiver will be submitted by the student to the director of SDS who
will forward a recommendation to the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies for final decision.
Please Note: CLAS waivers are not acceptable for admission to or graduation from programs
in the College of Education.
If you still have questions regarding these requirements or how to meet them, contact your Academic Advisor.
Click HERE for Academic Advising Contacts
